My Story

I’ve been serving people who live “in extremity” for 30 years. People who were hungry, or homeless, or couldn’t do for themselves because of a disability. It’s been great, and I love my work. After all, the vast majority of my Ten Thousand Pots of Soup was made in that service!

There was a time I wanted to open a Catholic Worker House of Hospitality; that’s how I got my start in 1997. Building a small community of like-minded folks to live with and serve people has proven difficult.

Local government’s opposition to adding emergency beds or homeless shelters, or even a Single Room Occupancy building to our metro area was an uphill battle that I became too weary to fight.

For about 20 years, I have dreamed of a community kitchen with a simple menu of quality food, table-side service, with modest prices — that Catholic Worker Hospitality for everyone who comes through the door.

Then I read about a cafe called One World Everybody Eats that was doing this. In fact, they allowed people to pay what they couldafford for their meal! There are places around the world that are doing it, too. Small in number, surely, but more are growing up all the time.

But as much as I wanted to build a place like that, I also enjoyed the security of having a job and working within someone else’s system.

I believe that Central Minnesota can use a place like this. There is a small (but growing) group of people who agree with me. I’ve raised a little money for an event we’re planning in June (or July) that will bring people together to raise awareness and enjoy a meal for what they can afford to pay!

This blog will be about my recipes and the coffee cafe as it grows. Thanks for reading, and keep an eye out for updates!